Bitquery reports Solana bot generated $1.4B in fake Raydium volume
Suspected wash trading inflated Raydium volume by $1.4 billion
Blockchain analytics firm Bitquery reported that a single Solana wallet generated $1.4 billion in suspected wash trades between September 21 and October 20, 2026. This activity accounted for 22.7% of the total trading volume on Raydium's concentrated liquidity market maker pools during that period.
The operation reportedly used only $12,000 in working capital to create this massive volume. Bitquery identified the activity as a suspected wash-trading operation, where a bot repeatedly buys and sells the same assets to create the illusion of high market activity.
Key numbers from the investigation
- The wallet executed 108,871 swaps across 438 pools.
- Reported trading volume was $1.4 billion, representing 22.7% of Raydium CLMM volume.
- Only $12,000 in capital was used to generate the trades.
- Ten pools linked to the wallet displayed $5.93 billion in liquidity on DEXScreener, but held just $10,238 in USDC reserves.
- One specific pool showed $579 million in liquidity while holding only about $19 in USDC.
Fake tokens and misleading liquidity figures
Bitquery found that many pools involved tokens that mimicked established cryptocurrencies such as XRP, Litecoin, Monero, and Lisk. These fake tokens displayed high liquidity figures that did not match the actual money available in the pools. For example, a pool using Lisk's ticker showed a high valuation based on nearly one billion tokens, but the actual USDC reserves were minimal. This discrepancy suggests that investors could not reliably sell large amounts of these tokens without causing severe price drops.
Bot mechanics and helper wallets
The bot operated by rapidly buying tokens and selling them back into the same pools within seconds. In one instance on October 20, the wallet exchanged 11,102 USDC for Lisk tokens and sold them back 22 seconds later for 11,100.87 USDC. This single transaction generated about $22,200 in recorded volume at a cost of just $1.13 in fees. Bitquery identified 22,685 completed round trips during the reporting period.
The investigation also found 12 other wallets that appeared to assist the operation. These helper wallets executed about 1.25 million swaps. However, only four wallets outside the suspected cluster traded in these pools during the previous week, generating just $27 in combined transactions.
Why this matters for decentralized exchanges
The findings raise concerns about the reliability of trading volumes and liquidity figures on decentralized exchanges like Raydium. Investors often use these numbers to assess market activity and determine if a token can be bought or sold without large price changes. Misleading statistics could trick investors into buying fake tokens that appear highly traded but lack actual liquidity.
What is still unclear
Bitquery linked the wallets through shared trading pools, funding sources, and direct transfers, but did not identify the operator of the bot. The investigation did not establish that Raydium or the trading platforms displaying the pools were involved in the fraud. Additionally, no investor losses were confirmed in the report.
Newisty Editorial Team covers technology, cryptocurrency, digital products, online platforms, developer tools and the wider digital economy. Our content is researched from official sources, company announcements, public documentation, market data and other primary or reputable sources. Articles are reviewed and edited before publication for clarity, accuracy and useful context.